PHUKET: A daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media.

bangkokpost.com Cabinet's endorsement of a draft royal amnesty decree cannot be interpreted as anything else but a clear intention of the government and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to facilitate the return home of her elder brother, Thaksin.

nationmultimedia.com If you were the prime minister, being attacked left and right, the most controversial thing you wanted to pull off should probably be done while you still could. And the floods would make it difficult to mobilise street protests.

christianpost.com Outdoor restaurants and markets in Bangkok were filled with people this week, and office areas were thriving with life again. Fears were raised over the possibility that dead animal carcasses would bring diseases and spark a deadly outbreak throughout the city, but so far, such a situation has been avoided.

nationmultimedia.com While some hotels in flood-affected areas have resumed operations, most tourist hotels in Bangkok are still suffering from poor business as potential visitors are increasingly concerned about the outbreak of disease as a result of the floods, according to the Thai Hotels Association. Although many tourists are shifting their travel plans to southern Thailand, airline seats are limited to destinations such as Koh Samui, which is unable to accommodate large aircraft.

Phuket Update Entertainment associations in Phuket City and Kata-Karon have combined to contribute 70,000 baht to flood relief.

Associated Press US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced a US$10 million aid package for flood-ravaged Thailand during a visit to express solidarity.

reuters.com Floodwater in parts of Bangkok is receding after weeks of inundation but PM Yingluck Shinawatra and water experts said residents in some western districts could still be suffering into next year.

nationmultimedia.com Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra warned residents of eight more communities in Bangkok's Bang Kapi district to brace for possible flooding.

bangkokpost.com Bangkok should be dry by early next month, says Adri Verwey, a senior specialist in modelling systems at Deltares, a Dutch-based independent water research institute.

npr.org New rules say foreign men who want to marry Cambodian women must be under 50 years old and make more than $2550 a month. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said: ''We want people getting married to look like proper couples, not like a grandfather and a granddaughter.''

Phuket Update The driver of a BMW escaped serious injury when his vehicle crashed on a straight stretch of Thepkasattri Road in Phuket City at 1.48am on Tuesday. The car narrowly missed the owner of a street noodle shop. Police attributed the crash to speed and poor driving.

scmp.com Passengers furious that their Hong Kong Airlines flight from Singapore was delayed for nearly nine hours managed to triple the compensation offered by the airline by staging a sit-in on the plane.

thestandard.com.hk After a few hours, 60 travelers left but the remaining 20 from Shenzhen stayed in their seats for nearly five hours even after police were called to Hong Kong International Airport, leaving only after they had received ''adequate compensation.''

smh.com.au More than 180 passengers on a chartered Comtel Air flight from Amritsar in north India were stranded on the tarmac in Vienna during a refuelling stop after being told the airline ''ran out of cash to fund the last leg of the trip,'' London's Daily Telegraph reported.

washingtonpost.com The US announced plans to establish a permanent military presence in Australia, part of a high-profile foreign policy shift toward Asia that is intended as a counterbalance to China's growing power. Starting next summer, the US will send 250 Marines to bases in Australia for six-month tours, eventually rotating 2500 troops through the country.

scmp.com At least 18 children were killed when a nine-seater school minibus crammed with 62 kindergarten pupils, a teacher and a driver crashed head-on into a coal truck in China.

afp Bloggers from across Southeast Asia - where many face restrictions on freedom of expression - met on the sidelines of a regional summit to offer each other support.

Associated Press Claims that a nocturnal Asian lizard can be used to help treat the HIV virus have led to a sharp boom in smuggling of the reptile, putting it at risk, a conservation group said. Demand for the Tokay Gecko has skyrocketed in recent years, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia said in a report.



cnn.com FIFA president Sepp Blatter says he believes there is no on-field racism in football and that players who think they have been abused should simply say ''this is a game.'' Piers Morgan, host of CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight, tweeted: ''Sepp Blatter just gave every racist in football a license to abuse. Even by his standards this is utterly outrageous.''

theage.com.au As golf's Presidents Cup gets the marquee match-up it needed - a resurgent Tiger Woods against Australia's Adam Scott and his provocative Kiwi caddie Steve Williams - the caddie has cast more aspersions on Woods, keeping their feud bubbling.



November 19 The Khao Lak Community Appeal and the Foundation for Education and Development are holding the second Khao Lak Charity Golf Tournament at Tab Lamu Navy Golf Course. Last year the two charities raised 420,000 baht for their causes, with a great turnout. Details: 081 5441837.

November 26-27 9th Phuket International Soccer 7s

November 27 Laguna Phuket Triathlon

December2-5 Phuket Musiq Festival, Saphan Hin, Phuket City, nightly

December 3-4 Sixth Andaman International Soccer 7s

December 3-10 King's Cup Regatta, Kata beach

December 4 Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship, Laguna



Late February Phuket Blues Festival, Laguna Phuket

May 26-June 5 National Youth Games, Phuket

March 29-April 1 Phuket International Boat Show, Royal Phuket Marina



November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket